Today, February 11th, marks the death in 1963 of poet and novelist Sylvia Plath, aged just 30.
Most of Plath’s work was published posthumously. Her only novel The Bell Jar was published under the pseudonym Victoria Lucas, just a month before her death. The Library holds a copy of this first edition as seen above. Subsequent editions bear her name.
The Library also holds in it’s Rare Book collections some limited number small speciality press editions of collections of her poems. The Rainbow Press was run by Plath’s widow, the poet Ted Hughes and the The Crystal Gazer seen here, was it’s first imprint. The Library’s copy is number 229 of 400 and is covered in quarter buckram with hand-made Japanese paper sides, in a slip case. The Library’s copy of Lyonnesse is number 287 of 400. It is bound in quarter leather by Davis & Hodges.
Embers Handpress was run by Roy Watkins, a personal friend of Ted Hughes and his sister Olwyn who granted Embers the rights to publish The Green Rock for free in 1982. The Library's copy is number 101 of a run of 160 copies and was hand-printed on hand-made papers and covered in ‘Auvergne’ paper. The Library’s copy of The Green Rock was donated as part of the Donald MacPherson collection.
